The Recorded Sound Archives (RSA) is a unit of FAU Libraries Special Collections department. We are located in the Wimberly Library on FAU's Boca Raton campus.

Originally established in 2002 as a small project dedicated to the preservation of recorded Jewish music, it has matured into a robust digitization operation for all types of sound recordings.

VZL 160: Story of a Song

Additional information (PDF) is only available
through the Research Station
Album Info
Collection(s)Judaic
Catalogue NumberVZL 160
Matrix Number N/A
Record Label Vistas of Israel
Record Format33 1/3 RPM - 12"
Shelf Number801210
Number of TracksN/A
Date RecordedN/A
Album Artists
Notes Story Of A Song

This Vistas of Israel program tells 2 stories: The story of Chanukah and the oil-fueled lamp that miraculously burned for 8 days instead of 1; and the Chanukah song favorite, Maoz Tzur. The Chanukah story itself began in 165 BCE with the consecration of the Temple in Jerusalem and symbolized the renewal of Judaism in the midst of paganism. That history is written in the books of Josephus and the Books of The Maccabees. Maoz Tzur was a poem written in the 13th century by Mordachai Ben Yitzchak, a German-Jewish poet. The melody has evolved over the centuries, but the origin appears to be Germanic, and adapted into the favorite Chanukah song we know today.

1) Maoz Tzur as sung in a choral setting. 0:52 - 1:07

2) The melody as harmonized by Bach and played on a small organ showing its Germanic origins. 3:19 - 4:20
Recordings restricted by copyright will only play 45 seconds to give you a sense of what that recording originally sounded like. These recordings can be identified by the words (Research Station) in the music player.

If a song listed below has not been digitized yet, it will NOT show up within the player. If you need us to digitize this song/album, you can make a formal request here.
Tracks Info
1 - Story of a Song
Composer(s) : N/A